I find her to be so compelling and un-Galadriel-like. She's so transfixing. I should probably check out some of her other work.

She was in a play in Washington, DC with Hugo Weaving a few years back. I should have made a point of going. "...not till now have I understood the tale of your people and their fall. As wicked fools I scorned them, but I pity them at last. For if this is indeed, as the Eldar say, the gift of the One to Men, it is bitter to receive." -Arwen

I wasn't aware of her until The Lord of the Rings and realized afterward that I'd seen her in other films. Shortly after, I watched Pushing Tin again and didn't even realize it was her. Although I fell in love with her when she was so geeked to get a set of her Elven ears as a memento for filming LotR :)

It's a vignette with real Cate talking with her sister - they have a difficult relationship as the sister is jealous of Cate's success. All through that scene I was arguing with myself whether or not the sister was also played by Cate. I still wasn't sure by the end - but it turned out that yes, Cate played both roles. Celebrimbor: "Pretty rings..." Dwarves: "Pretty rings..." Men: "Pretty rings..." Sauron: "Mine's better."

"Ah, how ironic, the addictive qualities of Sauron’s master weapon led to its own destruction. Which just goes to show, kids - if you want two small and noble souls to succeed on a mission of dire importance... send an evil-minded beggar with them too." - Gandalf's Diaries, final par, by Ufthak.

She takes on mannerisms and personalities so thoroughly that 'Cate' falls away entirely - such as when she played her own sister in that C&C scene. A remarkable, absorbing actress. Celebrimbor: "Pretty rings..." Dwarves: "Pretty rings..." Men: "Pretty rings..." Sauron: "Mine's better."

"Ah, how ironic, the addictive qualities of Sauron’s master weapon led to its own destruction. Which just goes to show, kids - if you want two small and noble souls to succeed on a mission of dire importance... send an evil-minded beggar with them too." - Gandalf's Diaries, final par, by Ufthak.

I discovered it while looking for other movies by LotR cast members. I love them both in this and they work so very well together. You can tell they have acted together many times. It is not an easy story to watch, but is very well done and character driven. As an added plus, my husband, a life-long swimmer, loved her swimming sequences!

well, it's the highest honor i (personally) can bestow on a thespian. it is my appellation for....

... an actor whose work i so admire, work i find so interesting, varied, and compelling, that i would willingly watch them in anything -- even a dog food commercial -- just to see what they'd do with it.

. aka. fili orc-enshield +++++++++++++++++++ the scene, as i understand it, is exceptionally well-written. fili (in sort of a callback to the scene with the eagles), calls out "thorRIIIIIIN!!!" just as he sees the pale orc veer in for the kill. he picks up the severed arm of an orc which is lying on the ground, swings it up in desperation, effectively blocking the pale orc's blow. and thus, forever after, fili is known as "fili orc-enshield."

this earns him deep respect from his hard-to-please uncle. as well as a hug. kili wipes his boots on the pale orc's glory box. -- maciliel

i thought she was just... +phenomenal+ in the crucible, which is one of the films i find most compelling -- i find it awkward to say of that sort of film, "one of my favorites," because the subject matter is so, so dark.

her final exchange with daniel day-lewis on the beach... ach!!! (day-lewis is also one of my dog food actors... but this was called into question with the release of the film "9," which i have +such+ an anti-interest in seeing -- it's really a test of his dog foodness).

oh, and i also forgot to add sigourney weaver to that list (speaking of sigourney weaver).

cheers to starling! : )

. aka. fili orc-enshield +++++++++++++++++++ the scene, as i understand it, is exceptionally well-written. fili (in sort of a callback to the scene with the eagles), calls out "thorRIIIIIIN!!!" just as he sees the pale orc veer in for the kill. he picks up the severed arm of an orc which is lying on the ground, swings it up in desperation, effectively blocking the pale orc's blow. and thus, forever after, fili is known as "fili orc-enshield."

this earns him deep respect from his hard-to-please uncle. as well as a hug. kili wipes his boots on the pale orc's glory box. -- maciliel